[pawan_pullarwar]

Nice review/exeprience. Here people are not educated technically to work on Palio that is reason we do suffer many times.

[shineshine]

Originally Posted by pawan_pullarwar

Nice review/exeprience. Here people are not educated technically to work on Palio that is reason we do suffer many times.

Exactly Said, without an engine scanner it is almost impossible to identify the fault of Palio both petrol and diesel. I had to keep my Palio in garage for almost 1 month for diagnostics for due to a starting problem. Finally it was one ex-TVS technician who found it to be a faulty Crank Position sensor.

[krsh77]

Originally Posted by pawan_pullarwar

Nice review/exeprience. Here people are not educated technically to work on Palio that is reason we do suffer many times.

Very true Pawan,

Once i had to teach a mechanic in a local garage to use the Tensioner to remove/put the belt in place. He was using the cycle chain technique to make the belt lock into its place.

[krsh77]

So after GreenTracks fixed the timing issue, the car was running super fine and super smooth. Within a month another issue crops up. This time it was the AC; When i switch on the AC, it works fine for a while and then cool air never comes out of the air vents. I feel a suffocating feeling when this happens.

At times the AC works fine through out my travel to office, but mostly it switches off itself after 2 mins. If i switch the AC off and switch it on after a few minutes, it works for a while and goes off. So this time i didnt want to hop around local mechanics and straighyaway went to Green Tracks.

The service engineers checks the issue and i was able to demonstrate it successfully. Here comes the diagnostics - replace Compressor. Man did i hear it right? Yes he said replace the compressor. I argued that it could be a loose contact in the wiring or some relay gone kaput. He didnt buy my point and i decided not to believe him. The compressor costs 23K and labout charges extra. He adds "The Palio AC system is very complicated and laour charges will come to 5K. So it will come to a little under 30K".

I decide to live with this and was getting used to without AC. One day mentioned the issue to my local garage owner. He promptly called up an electrician and asked him to check the vehicle. After diagnosis he said he has to replace some wires and a relay. In one hour flat, the thing is fixed. AC works continously. Total cost was 600 INR. But the blue wire in the hood looks odd though.

This is not the end though, Next issue in my next post. Have a good night friends.

[krsh77]

This is in the month of January 2008. My wedding is on 27th and i was all set to travel to my hometown on the previous Sunday along with my brother. I had the regular service done on Saturday which included oil change, filters and general checkup so that there wont be any unpleasant surpirses on the 750 km travel. I filled up diesel and checked air on all the tyres by Saturday evening.

Sunday morning we get ready and load the car with our luggage, start the car and let it idle for a few minutes; no additional noises. Pleasant morning to start the journey. Switched off the engine and went inside the home to check whether we have left behind anything important.

We are good to go and walk towards my car, i notice water on the ground under the car, looked under the bonnet and found the source of the water, its actually coolant coming out from the timing belt compartment. I started the car and went for a small drive and confirmed that the temperature is shooting up as there is no coolant left.

So we fill up the coolant tank with tap water, carry another 2 litres of water in a bottle and drive around to find a garage. Lucky me, one garage was open on the road that goes Frazer Town towards Hebbal. However the guy says Water Pump has kicked the bucket. I dont want to take a chance with him, so again filled the coolant tank with water and came back home.

I call up my regular mechanic and tell him about the issue; he asks me to postpone my travel as nothing can be done on a Sunday.

So i called up my parents and inform them that we are travelling only on Tuesday. I was a bit desperate about postponing the travel and there are lots of things to be done at home. To down the sorrow, went to friends place, played a few game of cards and downed a few iced teas and came back home in the evening.

Monday morning i drive the car to the garage after filling the coolant tank with water. I told the mechanic that this needs to be fixed ASAP and i need to start by that afternoon; though i planned to travel only on the next day.

The mechs went on full swing and removed the auxiliary belt and then the timing belt compartment. I was with them when my car was being worked on. We were under the assumption that the water pump is the culprit, but once the plastic covers of the timing belt compartment came off; we noticed the leakage only from the bottom of the compartment.

Guys i was lucky enough, it was not the water pump, but something called Dummy (not sure if i spelled it right). Its of the size of a new 50 paise coin and its rusted and had given away. I think there are a few dummies across the Engine Block and used for cleaning pupose? (I am not sure, Engine gurus please shed some light on this )

The "Dummy" costs around 25 bucks, i was told it was a brass one and it wont corrode. Labour charge came to around 300 bucks.

May be i was not destined to travel on that Sunday and this Dummy stopped me from Travelling. I started Tuesday morning by 7 and reached home by around 8 in the night. It was a pleasnt journey all the way.

[spiritofdriving]

@krsh77,

Brilliantly put down and thanks a lot for all the info out there.

I am planning to buy a Palio D. do you mind telling me, what all I should check before deciding on the car?

To be frank, after reading all the above issues, I am a bit worried about buying Palio D only coz of lack of service support!!! :(
I too am from Bangalore.

[pratim]

Krish, my experience with Green Tracks is also somewhat similar. While they are good at mechanicals, they not so strong at electricals. I own a Palio Petrol for last six and half years. The digital clock in my car's dash went off one fine day and I asked these guys to check. They said it can't be repaired, it had to be replaced and cost is around 4K. I abandoned that and when given my car to Concorde Motors (Kudlu gate) they replaced a blub for about Rs.50 to get the clock working. On another occassions, the wipers in the single sweep mode started misbehaving. I went to Green Tracks to be told that the sensor assembly has to be replaced; cost was again about 4.5 K. I suggested to those guys that it may a loose contact, since I noted that for couple of times it worked, where as most of the time it did not work. I did not oblige then and actually it was a loose connection that got corrected later on free of charge.

[krsh77]

All,

I just want to finish this thread i started on my ownership of Palio 1.9D.

I had the regular share of troubles every 2 months and the car was chugging along good till last October. It all started on a Monday morning on my way to work. I took the outer ring road from K.R Puram towards Sarjapur road and there was a strange sound every time the car went over a speed breaker. In the third speed breaker there was a crashing sound and the engine went dead. I slammed the brakes, put on the hazard lights and came out of the car. Opened the bonnet to see the engine sinking low from the usual position. And there was a broken mount bolt lying behind the car.

With the help of some people around, I managed to push the car to the left side of the road and called my mechanic. Explained him about the bolt and he came with a spare bolt. He jacked up the car and then the engine with a hydraulic jack and fixed the mount bolt. All seemed well. The mechanic went back and I resumed to office.

From this point I make it a point to visit the garage every Saturday and make sure that all the mount bolts are secure.

Also I have limited the car to exclusive City use. No long distance in my Car.

[krsh77]

The car was running OK for a couple of months. Come December 2009, this was on a Wednesday. Near to Horizon Engineering college, the car was climbing the speed breaker (yeah climbing - Bangalore speed breakers are timy mountains) and a feeling of deja vu returns. the same loud crashing sound and engine killing itself. Similar situation with a broken bold a few feet behind the car and the engine lying low in the engine bay.

Pushed the car to the left side of the road, called the mechanic and he leaves the garage with a new bolt. This time the bolt would not stay on place - the thread has given up and the bolt will come off once i start the engine.

Went to JC Road to buy a new mount which fixed the issue. But i lost the whole day in the process. I drove the car to the garage and left it there. This would burn a deep hole in my wallet.

I decide to change the clutch plate, re-thread all the mounts and secure them with new bolts. In the mean time my friend was going to the States for 3 months and I got his car.

My car was over hauled - new lower arms, clutch pressure plates, all mount points re-threaded and secured with new bolts. The drive definitely improved a lot. However I dont feel lile driving it. Every time i take out the car I will be tensed the whole journey till I return home.

So I talked to the garage guy to arrange it to sell it off. He assured me that the car is in good condition now and there is no need to sell it off now. But I know I will not be at peace if I am driving that car.

I left it in the garage so that he can find a new owner for the car. The sale was " As is Where is" condition. Finally she got a new owner sometime in February.

I will have my friend's car till mid of March. So i started looking for Baleno and OHC. Test drove a few Balenos and OHCs. I am not going to start comparing the two cars because that like .

Came across dumb owners who clocked the cars but forgot to remove the service station stickers which mention "last service done on 105000 kms" where as the Odo will show 65000 kms. One car was "Army officer owned" which boasts of an excellent ICE, accident free, blah blah... But the rear window panes gave it up - The year stamp on the rear window panes were of 2009. Where as the car was of 2005 make. Should be a case of some serious rear-ending by some truck or something.

In the mean time I got an offer to work abroad which made me drop my plans to buy a car now. Mid of march I returned my friend's car and now using my dad's Alto - trouble free little machine. A couple of weeks more in Bangalore and I will be out of this place for a few years.

Oops i didn't mean to be be out of T-BHP. Though i don't have many posts to boast off, I am a regular in this forum and i will be staying active for years to come.

[Utopian]

Well you had a fair deal of visits to your local mechanic with your Palio D. Certainly not one of the best experiences. Fiat certainly needs a lesson or two from Japs with regards to reliability although their built quality is above par.
Wishing to hear more about your future rides on the forum.

[anekho]

I just read through the whole thread now and I've got to say, fantastic write up!

The first few posts were especially thrilling!

All's well that ends well I guess! Hope your next car is less troublesome.

And please write more often

[bottle]

Originally Posted by pratim

I abandoned that and when given my car to Concorde Motors (Kudlu gate) they replaced a blub for about Rs.50 to get the clock working.

Can someone give me approximate directions to this branch ? I'm having the same problem with the clock, the bulb is fused

@krsh77

Sorry to hear that you sold off the car but I guess I can understand how you feel to a certain extent. No thoughts of getting a mjd ?

[planet_rocker]

@ Bottle - you can change the clock bulb - DIY.





1. use a thin kitchen knife and open the headlamp leveler cluster - marked 1

2. there is a screw that holds the dash board plastic panel - marked by arrows / 2.

3. once you open the panel the digital clock is accessible from behind.

4. simply unplug the wiring thingy/plug (turn to open - turn to lock type)

5. change the bulb (refer user manual for the bulb type - push to lock type - very small ones // buy atleast 2 bulbs because they are easy to break)

6. plug it back - check if it works (& dims) with ignition on (& headlights on)

7. fix the panel (wall clock type locks) - fix the headlamp leveler panel after tightening the screw.

[bottle]

^ Excellent , you should post that in a thread of its own will check the manual and give it a shot

Checked in VST Motors, Chennai but was told that there is no stock of the bulbs

[planet_rocker]

Welcome bottle - i have been thinking about starting DIY thread on Palio 1.6 - but the lazy bug - i tell you

Check for availability of the bulbs at a spare parts dealer.